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Orcs
Overview Etymology and Definition "Orc" is a word used to describe the species of large, sapient humanoid creatures found in the Orcwilds, Orcish Nation and Fira Confederacy. It is descended from the Old Imperial word "Orch" meaning "something which inspires fear; a monster." It seems at some point in their early conflicts the fledgling Orc species took the name for themselves, as they have incorporated it into their own language. History Orcs evolved on the same continent as Man and Fae, and originally inhabited the nations of Trinia, Baltos and Cellica. Protected from storms and other extremes of weather by the Barrier Mountains, the orc's home range was perfect for the evolution of a large, fast-reproducing omnivorous species. They domesticated horses, sheep, goats, wolves, oxen and several species of fowl while living a semi-nomadic existence through their neolithic period, with some tribes remaining hunter-gatherers right up until the Eastern Push by the fledgling Divine Empire of Man. At this point, having barely left the Stone Age and with limited supplies of Bronze, the disorganised Orc tribes were forced to give ground again and again, eventually fleeing the oncoming genocide into the uncharted deadlands on the other side of the Barrier Mountains. There they were sealed by the Empire, who made a pact made with the Fae to control their numbers. Pre-Zul In the 487 years between the flight across the Barrier Mountains and the invasion of Zul's Empire Killers, the orcs lived a chaotic and violent existence in the wastelands. With few natural resources, almost no arable land and very harsh environmental conditions, orc society was almost like that depicted in post-apocalyptic literature - small bands of only a few hundred orcs roving from place to place, in a constant state of warfare with each other and the environment. There is little orc history recorded from this time due to the fractured and mutable nature of the tribes and societies that rose and fell then, but we do know that there was a certain amount of cultural exchange between the Divine Empire and the orcs, in the form of the convicted criminals sent "over the wall" to die in the wastelands. Thanks to them, Empire technologies like steel, cartography and furnaces permeated Orc society. What is known of this period is that every five years or so, entire orc tribes would disappear. A malevolent force would steal into the wastes at night and kill until they were satisfied, taking orc heads away in sacks and vanishing into the dark. When they revealed themselves, it was already too late - killers of such skill and experience never struck unless absolutely certain of success. They treated the orcs as prey animals, not enemy soldiers, and the culls as hunting, not warfare. They were the Fae hunters. Post-Zul Following Zul's conquest of the Long Fang tribe, several other Tribes were subsumed into his new Wasteland Nation. The Crowcaller, Dead Flesh, Stonepoint and Red Eyes Tribe joined him, and he prepared ahead of time for the coming of the Hunters. When they came, the orcs were ready. Characteristics Content Here Orcs are humanoid, sapient creatures which stand between 5'10 and 7' tall. They live to a natural old age of around 40, and reach biological adulthood around the ages of 8-10, allowing for a rapid rate of reproduction which helps keep the species alive in the brutal wastelands. Orcs have considerable physical variation across the species, with almost endless recombination of traits keeping the variety alive in most tribes, but the general shared characteristics of the species are a deep chest, long arms, a heavy jaw, fanglike teeth and long, pointed ears. They generally possess more muscle than a human, and have keen night vision and a very keen, almost dog-like sense of smell. Physical Variation The variety of phenotypes shown by orcs is surprising and can make different individuals seem almost like members of separate species - recombining endlessly through the generations so even distant, isolated tribes show considerable ranges of traits. Adult orcs range in height between 5'10" and 7' in height, with weights ranging between 140lbs and 300lbs. As a species, they tend towards long limbs, wolf-like teeth and pointed ears although this is, of course, not necessarily the rule - with some orcs such as Snaga exhibiting thin, fish-like needle teeth and others showing fully human dentation or rounded ears. Their hair tends to be straight and either black, brown or, in green-coloured orcs, a sort of muddy green/brown colour. Many orc males, like Golg and Snaga, never grow hair on their heads. Orcish skin ranges in tone from bone-white to peach, grey, tan, brown, green, bluish-grey, black and blood-red. Despite so much variety in other physical traits, their blood is always black. Orcish eyes can also be any one of a range of colours, from the common black, brown, green, red, deep yellow and white to rarer colours like blue, including icy shades and deep oceanic blue, as well as orange (often seen with black scleras) and the vitriolic yellow seen in Zul, Snaga and Bargrush. Scleras of unusual colours are reasonably common, often earning a nickname for the orc that bears them. Some orc males are able to grow beards, some are not. Then again, the same is true of orc women. Behaviour While considered "savages" by humans and fae, orc behaviour is as complex as that in any society. While their short lifespans mean that they tend towards impatience and immediate rewards over long-term planning, they are capable of considerable patience when properly motivated (as the orcs who lay buried in wait for the fae were, with Zul's guidance and the promise of victory over a hated enemy to drive them). With generations of hardscrabble, Mad-Max-style survival and conflict in the wasteland, modern orcs are driven and wild-eyed, and often have a desperate demeanour. They are extremely aware of the social fabric of the tribe and their tenuous position in its hierarchy, and respond quickly and violently to any disrespect or challenge. They are individualistic, quick to anger and to calm, with incredibly strong family and clan loyalties. An external enemy, like a rival tribe, can make them put aside all animosities to face it - but once it is gone, they will go back to fighting among themselves. Their wasteland tribes function remarkably similarly to prison gangs or other pressurised, violence-based groups. After Zul's reforms, they settle in to their role as raiders and conquerors well, and their role in fighting the Divine Empire helps to add cohesion to their nation. Zul's efforts to erase tribal identity are only half successful, but his canny use of a greater evil (the Divine Empire) to keep his kingdom together stops the orcs from fighting amongst themselves and ensures a solid fighting force and a steady nation. Language Orcs speak tribal dialects of the shared wasteland language which they call "Orcish" and the Witch Tribes call "Rakshas". It is a harsh language which is spoken in a similar manner to real-world Gaeilge. Gender Roles There is no separation of gender in orcish society. The rapid maturation rate of orcish imps means time spent pregnant and nursing is minimised, and there is considerable overlap between orcish men and women in childcare, crafting, herding and combat. Orcish women are equally prevalent in war parties to orc men. Spirituality and Religion Different orc tribes have different religions and spiritual beliefs, but the majority of them centre around shamanism, with orcs believing that various gods and spirits walk the earth, influencing it. Vastly differing beliefs, like the Mothers of War's belief in the war goddess Shulna, are usually the province of the most isolated and far-flung tribes, and are largely subsumed after Zul's reforms. Zul's shaman, Kir, who becomes the Great Shaman of the Orcs after the tribes are united, preaches an engineered gospel about sin and redemption, claiming that those who die in battle with clean souls will enter the halls of their fathers and feast in glorious celebration in the afterlife; and those who have dirtied their souls with sin may cleanse it by meeting the enemy first, with no fear, washing away their sin with blood, either the enemy's or their own. If they die in the attempt, they are saved; if they survive, they are redeemed. This is the origin of the berserkers - Orc suicide warriors who fight with lunatic fury and total disregard for their own lives, smashing into shield-walls and phalanxes so that the others behind them might take advantage of their sacrifice. They are among Zul's most feared weapons, and a key to defeating the nigh-unbreakable legions of the Divine Empire. The Importance of Blood Orcs recognise the link between blood and life - when a warrior is cut, the blood leaving his body brings his strength and vitality with it, until he loses too much and dies. This has become a powerful aspect of orcish belief, and many orcs consider the loss and consumption of blood to equate to a loss or gain in spiritual and corporeal strength. To drink the blood of an enemy is to take his strength into yourself - so none of the blood of killed animals is wasted, and orcish war parties sometimes return with their lips and chins a ghastly black from cupfuls of the enemy's blood, taken to strengthen themselves and to fully symbolise the defeat of the enemy. This belief has led to an odd practice in which healthy orcs will give their blood to a sick or injured loved one, in an attempt to transfuse some of their life force into the weaker recipient; and an even stranger practice whereby Chieftains and Alphas give their blood away with as much fanfare as possible, usually to orcs who don't need it, to affirm their status, their vitality and health, and their excess of strength. This has the intended side effect of reminding the recipient and all others present that the recipient is below the Alpha; they were offered the Alpha's blood to strengthen them the same way that a sick imp might be offered the blood of a healthy adult. Bargrush even goes so far as to state that blood is sacred: if an orc kills without spilling blood, he shames himself and his enemy. Zul uses this to insult Snaga, bleeding the bigger orc to death over the course of an exhausting duel, and pointing out how he is willing to simply let Snaga's blood run into the ground: it is tainted, there is no power in it, and Zul does not need to drink from such a weak well. It is better to spill it into the ground and eliminate it from the pool. Art, Music and Literature Orcs have no written language, but they pass stories, legends and histories down in the form of sagas; an oral history kept by the tribe's storyteller and recounted around the fire or when old wisdom is needed. Zul's apprenticeship to the tribe's storyteller in his formative years is key to his development into the leader he becomes, as the old orc imparts in him a sense of history, of lineage and duty, and the importance of their lives and cultures. His tales of strife and heroism help the young half-orc to realise the ultimate importance of knowledge and instil in him a sense of greater perspective than that shared by the other orcs. Orcish music ranges from rowdy and fast to mournful and quiet, and is played on bone flutes, pipes, drums and stringed instruments and sung with great emotional inflection. Music tends to be reserved for times of comfort and celebration; in hard times or times of strife, orcs tend to find any attempt at art to be at best a distraction, and at worst an insult. Visual art tends to be shown in their crafts, body modifications, hairstyles and homes, and can take the form of swirling patterns, jagged shapes, depictions of orcs, animals and spirits, or other tribe-specific art. The most common art form is carving or daubing with paint, but complex weaving and stitching is sometimes seen on the clothing of the wealthiest orc chieftains. Society, Government and Politics Content Here Warfare Before Zul's Reforms, orcish warfare was almost exclusively tribal, and involved War Parties composed of volunteers or drafted tribesmen. Usually equally composed of male and female orcs, some adolescents usually accompanied the group in an observational or support role, and the chieftain or his housecarls led the charge. The armament and battle tactics varied wildly from tribe to tribe, but by far the most common tactic was a direct charge of the strongest warriors into the enemy centre, where they would attempt to break the strongest warriors of the opposing tribe. A flanking force of lesser orcs would attempt to encircle the enemy or prevent a hostile encircling manoeuvre, while the lowest of the low rained sling-stones and cheap javelins from afar. If the centre broke, the enemy was beaten: if the flanks broke, the centre would soon be encircled and destroyed. Once routed, the enemy force was usually chased on foot and bloodied as severely as possible: the taking of captives as slaves was common, and the blood spilled in the earth was considered almost religious - like a sacrifice. Some tribes, like the Stonepoint, used more esoteric tactics in battle, employing dozens of bowmen and setting up elaborate ambushes, but not many tribes have the patience for such antics. Typical war-party armament varied wildly between orcs (and with the wealth of the tribe), but the trend was for the centre to wear armour (plate, mail or scale) and carry the best weaponry. Lack of resources usually meant that these weapons used comparatively little metal, like spiked clubs, tomahawks and short, heavy fighting spears, while the orc predilection for weapons that can be swung down on an opponent or thrust into his belly or thigh meant that clubs, hammers, axes, spears and knives were very common. Shields were almost unheard of. The most metal-rich tribes, like the Jagged Peaks Tribe, were able to field well-trained soldiers heavily armoured in steel plate, and favoured metal-intensive variations on the typical Orc armament: halberds and bills, morning stars, two-handed scimitars and battle-axes were all common. For Orcish Warfare after Zul's Reforms, see Warfare of the Wasteland Nation. Technology and Body Culture Content Here Orcs have attained a level of technology comparable to an Early Medieval society, with common knowledge of steel, weaving, pastoralism and agriculture. Notable Orc Tribes The Long Fang Tribe The Jagged Peaks Clans The Dead Flesh Tribe The Red Eyes The Stonepoint Clan The Wolves of the South The Crowcallers The Rams-horn Tribe The Callers in the Dark The Stone-Orcs The Bloodletter Tribe The Mothers of War Notable Orcs Zul Golg Gosra Snaga Bargrush Kir (The Great Shaman) Molokai Alzok See Also * Orcish Nation * The Witch Tribes * The Orcs of the Fira Confederacy